


New Beginnings

by Tayani



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Boys In Love, Character Study, Childhood Memories, Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, New Years
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24095470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: Akechi Goro spends the first day of New Years with his friends.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 16
Kudos: 218





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SpookyVern](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyVern/gifts).



> This is a fic requested by SpookyVern as a prize in a New Years giveaway! Am I 4 months late? Yes! Am I still hoping they (and everyone) enjoys this fic anyway! Also yes! XD

The store smelt of dust, old wood, paper and silk.

It was a small one, tucked away in the indiscernible space between Yongen-Jaya and Shibuya. Judging by the state of the building in general, Goro suspected it has been there for hundreds of years, quietly passing from one family member to the other, with just enough clientele to keep going while not enough to branch out or modernize.

There was an air of nostalgia for ages past in it, hidden in between the sheets of parchment along with the carefully folded kimonos.

“Well then… step on this stool, young man.”

The lady who welcomed him and Akira into the store was old, like everything here, but there was surprising strength in her arms as she hauled out boxes from the shelves and pulled heavy material out of them, piece by piece. Akira was the first one to get dressed - carefully wrapped in layers of old silk and cotton while Goro walked around the shop, curiously examining hundreds and hundreds of other boxes hiding the beautiful kimonos, each of them another work of art.

It was his turn now. Akira didn’t go away once he was done, clad in intricate layers of red and black, with cranes embroidered on his haori. Goro has been given a warmer palate - deep browns and earthly greys, more fitting his complexion and hair.

They paid and left, side by side, into the cool January air. Goro shivered, wrapping his arms around himself, only to gasp when Akira laughed and turned to face him, carefully wrapping a scarf around his neck.

“There. You hate the cold, don’t you?”

“It shouldn’t be  _ this  _ cold in January,” Goro protested, though the effect has been somewhat diminished by him burying his face in the scarf. “And you shouldn’t have gone this far. We could go for hatsumōde without wearing all that. You ended up paying for the rental, too…”

“Hey…” Akira frowned, catching Goro’s hand in his own, their fingers interlacing. “It’ll be your first real trip to the shrine in forever, right? And it’s my first time doing that in a big city, too. I wanted it to be special.”

Goro didn’t reply. How could he? It still felt impossible, the whole situation - and it was definitely impossible for Goro to say everything that was on his mind right now. 

Like the fact that it would have been special anyway. Like the fact that Goro really didn’t deserve the fancy clothes, the care, the invitation to join the former Phantom Thieves on that day… that he did not deserve  _ Akira _ .

And like the fact that he  _ knew  _ Akira had a completely different opinion on that, and was not going to let Goro argue otherwise.

It felt overwhelming, the knowledge he was wanted here, by the side of the boy he once wanted to kill. That Akira went out of his way to invite him - held his hand as they walked together, as if he was afraid Goro would disappear. Thankfully, he wasn’t saying anything, as if sensing all the things Goro wasn’t saying during their trip - and by the time they arrived at the Meiji-jingu-mae station, the crowd grew too thick and loud for them to talk, anyway. The river of people streaming towards the shrine was vast, but at least the crowd was heading where they wanted to go anyway.

The Thieves were already waiting for them by one of the enormous torii gates by the time they arrived. The whole group - Goro felt himself tense up without meaning to, and then forced himself to relax when Akira chose to ignore it and pulled him forward to meet them. They were all wearing kimonos, just as Akira and Goro did, and in a sudden burst of understanding, Goro realized Akira must have asked everyone not to bail out on them, so that they…  _ no _ , so that Goro won’t feel awkward or too fancy. Hell, even  _ Ryuuji  _ was wearing one, as strange as he looked in full-on traditional get-up.

“Wow, looking great, guys!” Morgana called, poking his head out from Haru’s arms. Goro stared - even the damn  _ cat  _ was wearing a tiny kimono, cat-sized, and started preening the moment he noticed Goro was looking at him.

“Ha, I’m not too bad myself, right? Haru gave this to me-”

“Well, it looked too cute! I couldn’t help myself, I knew Mona-chan would look amazing…”

“I  _ was  _ wondering where on earth would you find something like that,” Makoto sighed good-naturedly, shaking her head. “I suppose pet stores these days do stock up on all sorts of things…”

“Hey! I’m not a pet!”

“Uh, guys, are we gonna just ignore how sharp these two are looking?” Ann rolled her eyes, skipping towards Goro and laughing as she took him by the arms and spun him around. 

“This is so cool! It looks like it was made just for you, Goro-kun! And these colours- you’d never known these were rental!”

“I know, right?” Futaba chimed in, looking from behind Ann. “And look at Akira’s! I mean, that thing’s  _ screaming  _ Joker, doesn’t it?”

“Hell yeah! Just as expected from our leader!” Ryuuji pumped his fist. Yusuke hummed, looking at him with his chin in between his fingers.

“On that note, Ryuuji, I was meaning to ask - where did  _ you  _ find a kimono that’d fit this well?”

“Ooooh, I know what you mean, Yusuke! He’s really not the type you’d think would look good in something like this, but somehow it works, right?” Ann nodded, letting go of Goro, to his quiet relief.

It was still somewhat strange - the simple acceptance of him by the group. They treated him like he was one of them, like there was nothing wrong in the fact that on the first day of the New Year, Akechi Goro walked with them to the shrine, hand in hand with Kurusu Akira and surrounded by laughter and bickering. 

As if he was just…  _ normal _ .

“You okay?”

Goro looked to the side, at Akira’s gentle smile and eyes filled with affection. For a moment, it felt as if his body and mind froze solid - somehow, it was exceedingly hard to  _ think  _ when Akira was looking at him in this way.

_ Was he okay? _

Just weeks ago, Goro’s life has been nothing even close to being  _ okay _ . Back when he was still under Shido’s control - a puppet dreaming of revenge, of being relied on, loved,  _ acknowledged  _ by the one person he could never hope for that from. Back when he pushed away all offers of help, all compassion. Back when he was ready to throw away all he held dear in life, just to go along with what childish, impossible revenge plan his fifteen-year-old self concocted. 

Just weeks ago, Akechi Goro wasn’t planning to live long enough to celebrate something as fanciful as  _ New Year. _

When was the last time he even went for hatsumōde? It had to be years and years ago, back when his mother was still alive. They’d go together, his small hand in her bigger one. They were poor, but she’d always buy him something sweet from the stalls… Goro remembered, for the first time in years, the unique taste of taiyaki from the New Years stalls. The azuki bean paste in them was hot enough he’d burn his tongue every time, and his mother would always chide his lack of patience...

How many years ago has it been? And now…

A warm hand in his own.

A gentle smile.

The voices of his friends, chatting and laughing and enjoying his presence among them.

Just weeks ago, something like this would have seemed like an unreachable dream for him.

“I’m okay,” he said, in a voice that was perhaps a little more choked up than he’d like it to. Akira didn’t ask for an explanation; he seemed to know without asking, without Goro saying anything. The other boy simply smiled at him and looked up into the clear sky, allowing the crowd to carry them.

The shrine was beautiful, once they finally got close enough to see it. With people milling around, the purification fountain splashing, the rattle of the omikuji sticks and ema being hung up, it created a little universe of its own, celebratory atmosphere spreading and making everyone flush and smile a little bit brighter. One by one, the former Phantom Thieves went up to throw their coins into the collecting boxes and make their wishes for the new year. When it was his and Akira’s turn, however, Goro stood aside.

“...Goro?” Akira asked, a shade of concern tinting his smile. Goro flushed and shook his head, giving him a half-shrug. 

“I didn’t really think of a wish,” he half-mumbled an explanation. Akira blinked and then flashed him another smile - as quick and sudden as lightning.

“You’ll think of something on the spot, then. Come on,” he said, pulling him forward - and somehow, Goro didn’t find it in him to protest. They stood together, side by side; their coins clattered into the money box and they clapped and bowed in unison - and then, Akira bowed his head to his hands to make a wish. 

Goro hesitated. He closed his eyes, searching for something he’d still want, something to wish for. He has been given so much already. 

Somewhere from the darkness behind his eyelids, he heard Akira tell him to take his time and then felt the other shuffle away. He was standing alone by the shrine, surrounded by the collective voice of hundreds of people here today, lonely among the crowd… and there, the perfect wish came to him.

Once Goro opened his eyes, bowed politely and left, Akira was already nowhere to be seen. Goro stood on his tiptoes, looking around, trying to squeeze his way through the crowd, when-

“Goro! Over here!”

Ann was waving at him from back near one of the entrances - one miraculously a bit less congested. Goro made his way towards her, sighing in relief. Everyone was there. Yusuke was standing closest to the entrance, holding an ema with a wish written on it out of the reach of Futaba trying to jump to it. Makoto and Haru chuckled beside them as they compared the charms they got for each other while Ryuuji and Ann chewed on skewers they got from one of the stalls and tried to stop Morgana from eating his own too fast and burning his mouth.

And Akira - Akira, who held a wrapped-up taiyaki in each hand, the sweets hot and steaming in the cold air. He held one of them for Goro to take the moment he noticed him, eyes wide and filled with laughter and affection. 

For the second time this day, the world seemed to freeze around him. And, with the sweet taiyaki warming up his cold fingers, surrounded by friends and looking at the boy he… he  _ cared for _ , Goro felt unbidden tears cloud his vision. The Thieves seemed to notice; suddenly, he was surrounded by inquiring voices and careful hands patting his back, and…

“Nothing… it’s nothing…” he shook his head, rubbing at his eyes with the sleeves of his beautiful kimono. When they finally moved aside, Akira stepped closer to him, wrapping a careful arm around his shoulders.

“Did you think of a wish, Goro?” he asked, and the other boy nodded, grateful for the change of topic. He took a bite of the taiyaki - it was delicious and warmed him up to the core.

“Yes…” he said quietly, and then let out a soft, shaky laugh. “I just… didn’t think it’d be like that.”

“Like what?” Akira tilted his head and Goro smiled and leaned in, kissing him on the lips. He could distantly hear the Thieves around them whoop and whistle; but with the press of Akira’s lips against his own, nothing else really seemed to matter. 

They tasted sweet - like azuki bean paste. Like new beginnings for a life he once thought forfeit.

Like freedom.

“I didn’t think it’ll come true so quickly, is all.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you like my stories and would like updates on my writing process/life/current obsessions, you can find me on twitter [@mikan_writings](https://twitter.com/mikan_writings)!


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